Kids Getting Up Close Look at Nature During Wildlife Camp

IOWA -- Some Iowa kids are getting a closer look at wildlife and nature this summer.

Kids at an Iowa DNR camp banded birds for one of the activities at Wildlife Camp. The DNR bands purple martins so they can track the birds for research. Surprisingly, the birds don't seem to mind the attention.

"It's one of the neat things about purple martins is their relationship with people. They get used to people, and being as they only nest in human-supplied housing, they're used to me checking the nests and I look after their welfare, and it doesn't bother them a whole lot," said Jim Gedler of the DNR.

This is one of nine wildlife camps hosted by the University of Iowa and the DNR. The next camp in central Iowa is next month at Ledges State Park in Madrid.